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Baltimore Bearcats
The Baltimore Bearcats are a Division III team in Blitz the League I & II. They are one of 15 recurring teams from the original Blitz the League game. The Bearcats are most known for being one of the pushover teams consisting of no passing game and no defense to speak of. The only type of offense is from their team captain Kwazi Mbutabe. History The Bearcats joined The League in 1942, when The League was consolidated from twelve teams to six and moved to maximize coverage. It was unknown what form, if any, the Bearcats existed in prior to the war and the subsequent contraction. In 1955 during a game with the Chicago Marauders their legendary running back Erik Jorgenson collapses and is diagnosed with a rare heat condition that leads to his death a few days later, it is a dubious distinction for the Bearcats to have Jorgenson's last game played against them. In 1972 Bearcats wide receiver Lawrence Saunders burns his draft card during a nationally televised interview. The next day, Saunders is arrested on the field at a Bearcat's home game against the Washington Redhawks in the middle of the third quarter. The Redhawks come from behind to overtake the Bearcats and win the game. Bearcats' owner Antonio Gerasi attempts to get the game results overturned and goes on to sue the federal government. He is unsuccessful, but when Saunders is killed in action in Vietnam six months later, it sparks a wave of anti-war protests. After the East-West merger of the two Leagues in 1976, the Bearcats begin play in Division II and go on to win the Division II Championship and move up to Division I bumping down the Detroit Devils. In 1985, amidst the controversy of the Chris DeAngelo trial, Bearcats rookie QB John Preston leads the team to a League Championship. In 1996 in a game against the Chicago Marauders, the Bearcats go to a 21-0 lead at halftime during which the Marauders promptly fire their coach leading to a turn around of the season for Chicago. In 2000 after the Arizona Outlaws refuse to sign thier #2 Draft puick Bruno Battaglia, the Bearcats decide to take a chance on the uniquely talented player. Just three years later Battaglia finds himself at the center of controversy when he plows Cincinnati Crusaders TE Xavier Fillmore into a metal bench with an out of bounds hit, severing his ear. When the teams meet again in Cincinnati, Battaglia wears an ear on a chain around his neck. While the ear is later proven to be a fake, the fans nearly riot, and Battaglia earns himself a police escort off the field. By 2004 the Bearcats had fallen all the way down into Division III, a division that was created by the 1994 merger between The League and Clive Hanson's Scrub League. During the following season Battaglia once again ignites the rivalry between the Bearcats and the Crusaders by stepping on the throat of Cincinnati's running back and team captain Kwazi Mbutabe making the comment that his only regret is that "Mbutabe is still breathing". Role in Blitz 1 The Bearcats make a strong start, anchored by their brutal linebacker, Bruno Battaglia. Near the end of the Division III season the relationship between the Bearcats and Battaglia had soured after Battaglia verbally insulted both his coaches and the Baltimore ownership at a press conference. After the incident the Bearcats coach Chuck Busick stated "There will be consequences." Those consequences were shown after the player's team triumphed in the Division III Championship and the Bearcats released Battaglia only to see him signed by the newly crowned Division III Champs. Role in Blitz 2 Sometime after the first Blitz game, Battaglia once again found a new home, this time with the expansion team, the Los Angeles Riot. Filling the void of leadership for the team came from an ironic source in former rival RB Kwazi Mbutabe who had been released by the Crusaders. Since the loss of Battaglia, the Bearcats have become one of the worst teams in The League, stuck in Division III, with little chance of upward mobility. Mbutabe is considered a has-been at this point, but is the Bearcats' only offensive weapon due to an inexperienced quarterback. Team Info Team Captain: ILB Bruno Battaglia (2000 - 2005) HB Kwazi Mbutabe (2007 - Present) Team Stadium: Harbor Park (1942 - Present) Category:Teams Category:Blitz: The League teams Category:Blitz: The League II Teams